TPMMuckraker

From Behind Bars, Randy "Duke" Cunningham Begs For The Right To Own A Gun

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:07:00 -0500

biggest bribery scandals in congressional history, would like his second amendment rights restored when he leaves prison so he can hunt, fish and protect himself from rabid cougars, he wrote in a letter to a federal judge this month. Unfortunately for 71-year-old Cunningham, that wouldn't happen because legislation passed during his time in Congress bans ATF from using federal funds to investigate whether felons should get their gun rights restored.]]>

Missouri House Drops $1,100 For Camera To Guard Limbaugh Bust

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:54:02 -0500

So you've made a bronze bust of Rush Limbaugh and put it in your Hall of Famous Missourians. Now what do you do? If you're the Missouri House, you spend $1,100 on a security camera to watch over the thing.

The FBI Informant Who Ran Drugs For The Hells Angels

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:22:57 -0500

brought down an Alaska militia headed by Schaeffer Cox last year admitted this week that he ran drugs for the Hells Angels motorcycle gang before he began working with the feds. The federal trial of Cox, Coleman Barney and Lonnie Vernon began earlier this month and could last several weeks. They are charged with plotting to murder government and law enforcement officials.]]>

Report: Schilling's Video Game Company Lays Off All Staff

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:44:59 -0500

told The Boston Globe on Thursday. ]]>

NJ Mayor, Son Arrested For Hacking Recall Website

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:00:09 -0500

allegedly worked together to take down RecallRoque.com by hacking into an associated email account. The feds said that "Victim 1," a resident and government official in the county, anonymously established and moderated RecallRoque.com in early February. The Democratic mayor and his son, along with an unnamed conspirator allegedly began plotting to harass whoever was behind the website.]]>

Segregationist's Stationery Spells Trouble For Anti-Muslim California Republican

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:35:00 -0500

Update: May 24, 2012, 5:35 PM The ghost of Alabama's segregationist former Gov. George Wallace brought trouble to the conservative stronghold of Orange County, Calif., this month and an anti-Muslim Republican is paying a political price for it. It started last week when people complained about letters a local businessman sent out in support of Deborah Pauly, a local councilwoman and a leader in the Orange County GOP who drew nationwide attention last year when she helped lead an angry protest against Muslims with chants like "terrorists go home." Pauly is now running for a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.]]>

From Investor Exuberance To Congressional Investigations: A Timeline of Facebook's Rocky IPO

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:06:09 -0500

It is safe to say that the Facebook IPO has not gone as planned. A slumping stock price, and several sensational reports about what went on behind the scenes, have resulted in lawsuits, attention from regulators, and a lot of sniping and second-guessing from pundits. This week's critical coverage is a complete 180 from the breathless, rapturous reports in the days leading up to last Friday. Take a step back. Here's a timeline of key events in the run-up to and brief history of Facebook's life as a publicly traded company:

Arizona's Secretary Of State Finally Gets What He Asked For

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:59:00 -0500

a single sheet of paper. Hawaii officials sent the man in charge of Arizona's elections a one-page verification late Tuesday that President Obama was indeed born in their state in 1961.]]>

Sentencing Means White Supremacist 'Serial' Bomber Likely To Die Behind Bars For Arizona Attack

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:23:00 -0500

Chances are, unless he lives to 102, a white supremacist who bragged about being a serial bomber will die in prison for his role in the 2004 mail bombing of a city office in Arizona. Dennis Mahon, 61, was sentenced by a federal judge on Tuesday in Phoenix to spend the next 40 years in prison for the bombing, which injured three employees of the Scottsdale city government, including its diversity director.

Undead Birtherism: The Zombie Conspiracy Can't Be Killed

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:55:00 -0500

long-form stake through the heart of the conspiracy, and yet some Republican politicians continue to offer fodder for the fringe which refuses to accept that Barack Obama is the legitimate President of the United States. ]]>

Bennett Backs Off Birther Threat, Apologizes To Arizona

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:43:00 -0500

Updated: May 22, 2012, 7:01 PM After days of ridicule for launching a conspiracy theory-fueled investigation into Barack Obama's birth certificate, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett on Tuesday backed off his threat to keep the president off the ballot in November and apologized to his state.

RELATED: Emails Show How Hawaii Stiffed Arizona Secretary Of State's Birther Investigation

"If I embarrassed the state, I apologize, but that certainly wasn't my intent," Bennett said in an interview with Phoenix radio station KTAR. "He'll be on the ballot as long as he fills out the same paperwork and does the same things that everybody else has."]]>

Is Mitt Romney A Unicorn? Arizona Secretary Of State's Birther Probe Ridiculed (Update)

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:20:00 -0500

In case there was any doubt about it before: The man in charge of running Arizona's elections has no plans to investigate Mitt Romney's birth certificate the way he's been looking into President Obama's. "No, we haven't contacted Michigan," a spokesman for Secretary of State Ken Bennett told TPM in an email on Tuesday. "I don't know if Michigan has the same statute that Hawaii has."

Auction Site Claims To Have Vial Of Reagan's Blood For Sale

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:24:37 -0500

up for sale a vial which it says was used to hold a sample of President Ronald Reagan's blood, drawn after Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981.]]>

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Sends 'Threats Unit' Investigator To Hawaii To Escalate Birther Probe

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:55:00 -0500

recent flirtation with birtherism, Sheriff Joe Arpaio escalated his probe into President Obama's birth certificate this week by dispatching a deputy from his "threats unit" to Hawaii. Both the Arizona Republic and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported deputy Brian Mackiewcz traveled with Arpaio's volunteer posse member Michael Zullo on Monday to try to get an official confirmation that Hawaii has the president's birth certificate on file.]]>

Emails Show How Hawaii Stiffed Arizona Secretary Of State's Birther Investigation

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:16:00 -0500

birther curious was that Hawaii officials just simply don't believe he's qualified to investigate Barack Obama's birth certificate. Sure, Ken Bennett says he's the man in charge of deciding whether President Obama is eligible to be on Arizona's ballot in November, but the response from people in Hawaii's government has been: Prove it. In essence, they're giving Bennett a taste of his own medicine, making him jump through a series of hoops to prove he has the legal authority to investigate the matter, much the same way the birthers have made Hawaii prove time and time again that the president is indeed a natural born citizen of the United States.]]>